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Auchtoon Time: Our cities need defenders, too

The vast majority of us Americans have no direct ties to our military. Most of us have not served in the armed services. There are lots of reasons for this, but it’s mostly because service is voluntary and has been for over 40 years.

It’s something of a symbiotic relationship: Sometimes beneficial — generally citizens in the military are those who want to be in the military, and those who don’t want to be are free to pursue other goals. But other times it feels as if those in the military are doing all the sacrificing.

We just celebrated Veterans Day, which annually brings this awkwardness into relief. Honoring our soldiers, supporting our troops is often just lip service. We genuflect out of habit. It is marketed to us. It gives politicians and grandstanders a guaranteed ovation line.

Perhaps a better way for us civilians to honor the sacrifices of those who serve is to take better care of what the troops are protecting. If they are the defenders, then shouldn’t the rest of us, at the very least, be proper caretakers?

This past week there were a couple of cautionary stories. From Flint and the ongoing water disaster, there have been court hearings concerning the spike in deaths from Legionnaires’ disease and potential mishandling by state officials. In Rockford near Grand Rapids, residents are grappling with water contamination from industrial sludge dumps.

This isn’t right. Freedom is of no use to you if you’re poisoned to death. We need to be better stewards of our freedom.

John Auchter draws cartoons. Lots and lots of them. You can find them at his incredibly popular website auchtoon.com. You can also find his stuff on Michigan Public Radio’s website under Opinion.

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You’re so right. We really need to value this wonderful country more than we do. Most of us just take it for granted until something like the Flint water crisis happens. If you don’t take care of your car it will fail on you. Same for our country.

John Auchter – Your cartoon is a lying piece of racist trash. You specifically portray a “white guy” being the cause for water issues impacting a “black family”. There is zero basis for your lies. There is no specific “white guy” responsible for any water issues be they lead levels, legionnaires, etc. There are people of many races that contributed over a period of decades. There are also people of many races who have been impacted by these water issues.

You are a horrible, nasty racist John Auchter. You push your political lies into your cartoons. You have zero credibility.

About The Author

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